Inspired by the towering pines and romantic horse trails that dot their Massachusetts property, Jill Neubauer and Steve Stimson built a home that embraces the great outdoors.

Natural Selection

Natural Selection

Jill Neubauer has a theory of home: If it isn't fun, forget it. So back in 1994, when the Massachusetts architect started designing a house for her own family, she called upon her most joyful childhood memories—of summers spent swimming, canoeing, kayaking, and hiking at her grandmother's lakefront cabin in Wisconsin. But the residence she built is far from a nostalgic, literal interpretation of rustic country traditions. Neubauer; her husband, Steve Stimson, a landscape architect; and their daughters live in a modern home that puts a contemporary spin on the past while still embracing its woodsy surroundings.

In this photo: Neubauer scored the farm table and sideboard at a flea market outside Chicago and the folding chairs at the Brimfield Antique Show. A commercial-use garage door serves as a convertible window wall.

Kitchen

Kitchen

When Neubauer and Stimson were engaged to be married, rather than registering for Limoges or Lenox, they sent friends and relatives to scour antiques stores and flea markets for Fiestaware in every color. It's just another example of how the past and present comfortably coexist in her home.

In this photo: In the open kitchen, white pine shelving—constructed from trees on the property—holds vintage Fiestaware, along with glassware from Crate and Barrel. Modernica stools offer seating at the plywood-topped bar.